Outlining your research paper Cell
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For a long paper, the outline is the essential guide to how the different portions of the material will be arranged and related to one another. You cannot write a good 25 page paper in one sitting, so you need a map to show you how to make the pieces fit together. By spending a little time to construct a solid and useful outline, you will have a plan that will make writing a more enjoyable task. In this way, the writing is simple, because it just has to follow the outline that you have assembled.
These aspects may include areas such as historical aspects, biochemistry, classical genetics, cytogenetics, molecular biology, disease pathology, etc. Do not feel the need to be really discerning, almost any point you can find may be included. You should have some idea of which of these aspects is more important, and therefore should be emphasized.
Some people like to use the model that most of us learned in eight grade English class, using the different numerals for the different levels of headings. For example,
I. Major heading one
A. Heading one
B. Heading two
1. Subheading one
a. minor point one
b. minor point two
c. minor point three
2. Subheading two
C. Heading three
II. Major heading two
Another style, which is just as valid (despite the protest of Ms. Lois Kelly, my 10th grade teacher), uses a more informative numbering system. Many scientists like to use it, for a number of reasons. Here is an example:
1. Major heading one
1.1 Heading one
1.2 Heading two
1.2.1 Subheading one
1.2.1.1 minor point one
1.2.1.2 minor point two
1.2.1.3 minor point three
1.2.2 Subheading two
1.3. Heading three
2. Major heading two
You may choose either style, or another that is internally consistent. The important aspect of the outline is planning before you write, not which plan you employ.
This is actually not such a bad deal. Take something on which you can write each of your topics and different aspects, such as note cards (8th grade English again) or post-it notes, or anything that you have lying around (extra Petri dish lids, for example). Write one topic or aspect on each note, and write all the items that you want to cover in your paper onto separate pieces. Then, move the pieces around to arrange them in an order. Put the major topics on the left-most side of your work area, then the next level of topics under that, and so on. Amazingly, you are constructing the outline by moving these around. Work at this for a while until you believe that all the ideas are in a reasonable order.
Leaving the moveable notes where they are, write down the outline that you have constructed visually. Use the numbering scheme of your choice to mark the items that are primary, secondary, etc. After you write it down, take a break from all this organizing, but try to leave the ÒphysicalÓ topics in place. You may want to come back to them later. (This is probably why one should not use edible items for the outlining procedure.)
With the draft of the outline completed, you should check over it for several points:
Do they each appear to have several minor points? Is there one topic that you do not have much information about? You should ensure that you have roughly the same amount of emphasis on each major point.
In other words, the outline shows you how the paper will flow when you write it. Look at the outline carefully, and decide if it has the correct order for how you would describe the topic. You have to decide if it would be better to put pathology of the disease first, or enzymology, or genetics? This is at your discretion, because you can decide on the major emphasis of the paper. Would you rather write first about the pathology, or the enzymology, or the possibility of gene therapy?
This is what Mrs. Kelly always caught me doing wrong. You cannot have a 1 without a 2. In other words, you need to see if there are any subheadings at any level that are isolated or singular. For example, item 2.2.1 is isolated below:
1. Pathology of AlzheimerÕs Disease
1.1
Physical neuronal loss
1.2
Mental functional deficits
1.2.1 Learning deficits
1.2.2 Motor deficits
2. Etiology of AlzheimerÕs Disease
2.1
Age of onset
2.2
Progression of symptoms
2.2.1 Dementia needs a 2.2.2 to go with it.
3. Enzymology of AlzheimerÕs Disease
3.1
Neuronal enzyme deficits
3.2
Regional neuronal losses
3.2.1 Hippocampus
3.2.2 Hypothalamus
Last, one final item to consider. Look at the outline to make sure that the order is something close to what you want to write about. If you are more oriented to protein enzymology, be sure the outline has lots of topics pertinent to that. On the other hand, if you are more interested in the behavioral aspects, have more points dedicated to such symptoms. For example, I would change the outline for AD that I gave above to stress the brain regions that are altered first, then go into the protein changes, because that is how I think about the disease (compare below to previous outline).
3. Enzymology of AlzheimerÕs Disease
3.1
Regional neuronal losses
3.1.1 Hippocampus
3.1.2
Hypothalamus
3.1.3.
Substantia nigra
3.1.4. Cortex
3.2
Neuronal enzyme deficits
3.2.1 Amyloid proteins
3.2.2
APP-670
3.2.3.
Tyrosine hydroxylase
3.2.4. Neurotransmitter deficits
So now that you have the outline in an order that you like, there is one thing that adds a finishing touch. You can use the capabilities of your word processor (You are using a computer to do this, arenÕt you?) to make each level have a distinctive style. For example, the sample portion of the outline above is formatted with bold for the major headings, italics for the next level, and underlining for the minor points. (I used Microsoft Word to do this handout.) You do not have to use these formats, just use what comes naturally and easily for you. The capability of your word processor may include certain types of formatting for headings, and these may be exactly right for your outline. There are two points that this formatting accomplishes.
You can see the outline is guiding what will be your paper. The formats allow your eye to see mistakes, such as leaving only one point at a given level, and the relative weights of each level.
By re-reading your own work with a careful eye, begin to learn to be your own editor. Does each topic still seem to be in the right place? Is the order of the overall outline still fit your idea of what you want to write about in the paper? By spending a little extra time on this portion of the outline, you will certainly be more familiar with what you are going to put down in sentences.
The outline is a changeable map that reflects the discovery of new information. Even after the due date for the outline, you may find new information, additional papers on your topic, or other sources that add to the existing material that you have. Using the outline, you can easily place this material in the proper position with the information that you already have. You may even find that a minor point should now be promoted to a more prominent position, or that a previous area can be moved to improve the flow of the paper. This is where the use of a computer makes revisions easy and fast. Remember, you wrote the outline to help in the big job of writing the paper. It can change up until the time that the rough draft is completed.
Steps
in making the outline.
c)
A system that seems natural to you
Remember, use the outline to:
1. Assess whether there
is enough information for the complete paper.
2. Determine where each portion fits
into the whole as you write it.